Celtic boss Neil Lennon has warned Anthony Stokes that he tarnished the image of the club by being pictured at a memorial event for a senior figure in the Real IRA.

A photograph of the player attending the benefit for Alan Ryan, who was gunned down in a Dublin street in September, appeared in both the Irish and Scottish press last month.

It has been reported the 24-year-old knew Ryan though his association with a Dublin bar run by Stokes’ father.

Warning: Anthony Stokes

Lennon revealed that he hauled Stokes over the coals and made it clear his actions were unacceptable.

The manager insisted, however, that the striker — who is out of contract next summer — still had a future at Parkhead.

‘We spoke to Anthony internally,’ said Lennon. ‘I am not going to moralise to him, but you cannot damage the reputation of the club.

‘He is aware of that now. It has been dealt with internally. Has he taken it on board? Absolutely, yes.’

Stokes, sidelined since July by an ankle injury, has been dogged by other off-field issues during his time at Celtic. He was axed from the squad for the final match of the 2010-11 SPL campaign for a breach of club discipline the night before.

Asked if it was now make-or-break time for Stokes, Lennon said: ‘No. It is maybe in terms of football.

‘He has been out for the best part of four to six months, so he wants to get back playing and we want him to get back playing because, over the last two seasons, he has been a very important player for us in terms of goals.

‘He is three to four weeks away. He will be another good player to have back just at the right time.’

Meanwhile, Joe Ledley is expected to be sidelined for 10 days with a hip problem, while Gary Hooper missed training yesterday with a virus.

Kris Commons and James Forrest are not yet ready to return but Lennon is adamant he will select as strong a team as possible for tonight’s Scottish Cup replay against Arbroath at Gayfield.

Sidelined: Celtic will be without Joe Ledley for 10 days

That is likely to mean another run-out for captain Scott Brown, who continues to defy predictions that his hip complaint will require surgery.

Indeed, Lennon is now hopeful that Brown — outstanding in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Kilmarnock — could play out the rest of the season without the need for intervention.

‘Possibly,’ said the Parkhead boss. ‘That is what he wants but there may be games coming up when we have to balance his training, balance the amount of games he plays. But, when he plays like he did on Saturday, he is great to watch.

‘He was at the heart of everything that was good about the performance and he is a real leader. To lose him at any time is difficult because he is such a presence in the dressing room and on the pitch, but I am delighted with how things have turned around.

‘He has had an injection but maybe he does not want to talk about it. He would rather people were talking about his level of play.

‘The winter break is coming up and, if we can navigate him through these games, it will be beneficial for him to have a week or 10 days of doing nothing.’